title: Periprocedural risk and long-term outcome of intracranial angioplasty based on a single-centre experience.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis is a major cause of stroke and yet there are currently no proven effective treatments for it. The SAMMPRIS trial, comparing aggressive medical management alone with aggressive medical management combined with intracranial angioplasty and stenting, was prematurely halted when an unexpectedly high rate of periprocedural events was found in the endovascular arm. The goal of our study is to report the immediate and long-term outcomes of patients with ≥ 70 % symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis treated with balloon angioplasty and stent placement in a single centre.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective review of 37 consecutive patients with 42 procedures of ballon angioplasty and stenting for intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (≥ 70 % stenosis) treated between 1999 and 2012. Technical success (residual stenosis ≤ 50 %), periprocedural success (no vascular complications within 72 hours), and long-term outcomes are reported.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Technical and periprocedural success was achieved in 90.5 % of patients. The within 72 hours periprocedural stroke/death rate was 7.1 % (4.8 % intracranial haemorrhage), and the 30-day stroke/death rate was 9.5 %. Thirty patients (81 %) had clinical follow-up at ≥ 6 months. During follow-up, 5 patients developed 6 ischemic events; 5 of them (17 %) were ipsilateral. The restenosis rate was 27 %, and the retreatment rate was 12 %.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our outcomes of the balloon angioplasty/stent placement for intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis are better than those in the SAMMPRIS study and compare favourably with those in large registries and observational studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové and University Hospital in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Dagmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Krajíčková
authors.forename: Antonín
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krajina
authors.forename: Miroslav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lojík
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mulačová
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vališ
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic; D018153:Czech Republic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002537:Intracranial Arteriosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D020300:Intracranial Hemorrhages / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D019233:Retreatment; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015607:Stents; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome